IF YOU GO

Widely recognized as “The King of Tone,” iconic rock guitarist Leslie West is best-known as the founding member of the band Mountain. Its hit “Mississippi Queen” is long recognized as one of the all-time rock classics.

With dozens of albums to his credit with Mountain and as a solo artist, West has worked with a variety of artists, including Blood, Sweat and Tears, Al Kooper, Bo Diddley, Joe Bonamassa, Warren Haynes, Mick Jagger, Ozzy Osborne and the Who.

“The album really came out great,” says West. “We finished mastering it last week. There are 11 songs on the album. It took nine months to finish. Doing it this way kept everything fresh.

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When it came time to doing guitar solos, they were spaced far away from each other so they didn’t sound identical. It worked out really well, taking my time. We have a deluxe edition with a beautiful booklet and it’s also on vinyl. We’re putting it out in every which way we can.”

Having endured the most challenging two years of his life (he faced a medically required amputation of a portion of his right leg due to a life-threatening diabetic-induced blood clot in 2011), West maintains a positive attitude.

“I didn’t lose my hands, so I can still play guitar,” says West. “I have an incredible wife, Jenny. She actually saved my life when I was going through this a couple of years ago. Biloxi, Mississippi, was going to be my last show. I got a blood clot flying down there.

“My wife actually had to make the decision to take me off medication, to wake me up and tell me that they were going to cut off my leg. I said, ‘Do whatever you want.’ I don’t know if I fully understood what she was saying. At that point it didn’t matter. “There have been some funny moments too,” added West. “Howard Stern asked me, ‘Where’s your leg?’ He called me right after the day of the surgery. He said, ‘What did you do with your leg? We can make a lot of money with that leg’ (laughs).”

Founded in 1969 by West, Felix Pappalardi (bass), Steve Knight (keyboards) and N.D. Stewart (drums, soon replaced by Corky Laing), Mountain proved to be a pioneering hard rock power quartet and one of the forerunners of the birth of heavy metal. Its appearance at Woodstock was one of the featured performances of the historic weekend long concert.

Mountain’s 1970 debut album “Climbing,” which was technically a West solo album featuring members of the band, yielded the classic “Mississippi Queen.” The song reached No. 21 on the Billboard charts and became Leslie West and Mountain’s musical anthem.

Following the breakup of Mountain in the early ’70s, West and Laing produced several albums with Jack Bruce of Cream under the moniker of West, Bruce and Laing. A second re-formation of Mountain in 1973 led to another breakup in 1974.

Since the early ’80s Mountain has routinely recorded and toured under varied lineups with West remaining the most notable and consistent member of the band.

“I want people to enjoy the music,” says West. “There are a lot of songs to choose from. I don’t usually write a set list down. I just do it from my head, call it out, and the guys in the band are right there. Even if I did make a set list out, I probably wouldn’t follow it anyway.”

In an effort to expand his musical presence through technology, West has developed his own app on iTunes called Leslie West String Bender.

“It’s almost like ‘Guitar Hero’ except you can bend two notes at the same time,” says West. “On there you can order all past Mountain albums. It’s pretty good. I tried to play it, and I’m getting’ pretty good at it (laughs). It’s pretty exciting. It’s been out for about a year.”

In 2006, West was enshrined in the Long Island Music Hall of Fame, joining such luminaries as Tony Bennett, George M. Cohan, Billy Joel, Perry Como, John Coltrane and Richie Havens, among others.

“I’ve been very lucky,” says West. “Talent is one thing, but you gotta be talented and lucky. I know there are a lot of guys sitting on a front porch in Alabama somewhere that could play rings around me. They just haven’t had the break. I think opportunity needs preparation.

“So if you do get a chance, you’d better have your act together. You can only give a first impression once. I still enjoy playing. Until I stop enjoying, I’ll keep doing it. Enjoy every moment, because you don’t know what is going to happen a minute from now.”